You are expert at slinking through shadows. You gain the
following benefits: you can try to hide when you are lightly obscured from the
creature from which you are hiding; when you are hidden from a creature and
miss it with a ranged weapon attack, making the attack doesn’t reveal your
position; dim light doesn’t impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception)
checks relying on sight.

The Unseen are the intelligence operatives of the Masked
King of Darkwater.

Whereas the Marked
Men are chosen in childhood, the Unseen are recruited as adults. They are
chosen for their intelligence and self-interest or loyalty. The Unseen come from all races and levels of
society. Anyone can be Unseen, which tends to make the average citizen of
Darkwater somewhat uneasy if not downright paranoid.

When not in combat, Marked Men can travel in Darkwater twice
as fast as their speed would normally allow.

Intimidating Presence.

While in Darkwater, as an action, a Marked Man can cause
each creature within a 10-foot cube, originating from them, to make a DC 15
Wisdom saving throw. The creatures that fail their saving throw are either
charmed or frightened by the Marked Man until the end of his turn. Creatures that make their saving throw are immune to this effect from all Marked Men until they finish a short or long rest.

Unphased.

While in Darkwater, Marked Men cannot be charmed or
frightened.

Multiattack.

Marked Men make two melee attacks.

Shortsword. Melee. +6 to hit; deals 1d6 +2 piercing damage.

The Marked Men are the special agents of the Masked King of
Darkwater. They are chosen as children, given special training and run through
a gamut of grueling tests. Those who survive earn the complicated tattoos that
cover their faces and are endowed with special abilities while within the city
walls.

Within Darkwater, Marked Men rank directly below the Masked
King and answer only to his authority. They can go where they please and are
empowered to command both the City Watch and the City Guard.

Interfering with, assaulting or murdering a Marked Man is a death
penalty offense.

Known as the Pearl of the North, Darkwater is one of the
largest, most influential cities on the continent of
Nur. Founded centuries ago by wandering humans, the city earned its name
from its unusually deep harbor.
Eventually, the original settlement was overrun and conquered by a tribe of wandering barbarians led by a powerful warlord. The
Warlords of Darkwater ruled the area for almost a century before they were
overthrown, in turn, by the being known as the Masked King.

The Masked King

The Masked King built his tower stronghold at the heart of
the small city. His edicts and decrees were carried out by his agents,
individuals known as the Marked Men because of their elaborate facial
tattoos. Under the Masked King’s rule,
Darkwater’s power and influence grew.

Two hundred years after establishing his rule, a group of
ambitious merchants sought to seize control of Darkwater from the Masked King.
The so-called Merchants Revolt failed spectacularly. The conspirators and their
families were rounded up and executed by the Marked Men. Some of the executed returned
as vengeful undead, bound to their place of death, an area that became known as
the Gravemound.

A hundred years later, the Masked King’s rule was again
challenged. This time by followers of Abasha, goddess of justice. Known as the Temple War, the Abashites sought
to free Darkwater from the rule of the Masked King, suspecting he was some form
of evil undead. Their actions drew other temples and gods into the conflict.
Most of Darkwater was laid waste, the populace rallying around the Masked King
and the Marked Men against the temples. The Temple War ended with the execution
of the Abashite high priestess and the expulsion of all the temples who took part
in the war. It also lead to the creation
of the Unseen, a secret police force answering only to the Masked King,
operating within and beyond Darkwater.

Darkwater’s influence was so great that when the Draconic
Empire began its invasion of Western

Nur, the conquest of Darkwater was
considered essential. The empire laid siege to the city, but was unable to
overcome its defenses. This led them to
devote resources to conquering Darkwater that might have been better deployed
elsewhere. Eventually, the Draconic invasion collapsed and the Siege of
Darkwater came to an end.

Today, Darkwater is the most influential and powerful city
in northwestern Nur. The city has seen an influx of new residents – refugees from
Mountgate and Swordhold, dwarves from Fallen Baramir, elves from Goldsun – that
have brought new life and energy to the Pearl of the North, and new problems as
well. Criminal organizations like the
Veil and the Black Glove have established enclaves within Darkwater, Abashite
zealots infiltrate the city seeking to destroy the Masked King, the Gravemound’s
undead stir themselves to new levels of action, pirates harry the coast and
bandits raid caravans.
Nevertheless, Darkwater endures and thrives, often making a profit off of its troubles.

The members of Lux Tenebris met the dwarf barbarian called
Myka through unpleasant circumstances. A deal made with Sister Vynos to save
Kip Iceheart placed the group in the sister’s debt. She called it in by sending Lux Tenebris
north, to kill Myka.

Bound by their debt, and compelled by an implied threat
against Kip, the group had no choice but to travel north. They soon discovered
that Myka was a prominent warrior in a roving barbarian band, that had been
plaguing the region for the last few weeks. The group attempted to fulfill
their bargain, but their plan fell through when Kip Iceheart learned why they
were going after Myka. The group withdrew, but not before making a dangerous
enemy out of Myka and her band.

The woman called Sister Vynos grew up an orphan on the
streets of Darkwater. At some point in her youth she fell in with the followers
of Rovelek, the God of the Dead, and joined one of his more militant temples. She encountered Lux Tenebris when they sought
an artefact in one of the catacombs beneath her temple. Although the group got
the better of Sister Vynos that time, later, when they needed Rovelek’s help to
save Kip Iceheart, Sister Vynos demanded the group agree to fulfill a future
request from her with no questions asked. Lux Tenebris agreed and Sister Vynos
sent them to kill the dwarf barbarian, Myka.
The group reluctantly complied with her request, but failed to kill the
barbarian. Instead, they earned the enmity of an entire barbarian tribe, which
may have been Sister Vynos’s plan all along.

Shiv Ashak met Ibrius Winterdoom several years ago. What
began as a purely professional working relationship, soon turned into a
passionate, but unrequited, love for the young woman. She is completely devoted
to Ibrius, acting as one of his bodyguards and his primary assassin.

Shiv and Hazard don’t really get along but they work well
together, which has earned the tiefling a modicum of respect from the
assassin. Nevertheless, she dislikes
Hazard’s sense of humor and is curious to find out just how dangerous the
tiefling really is?

The early life of the tiefling who calls himself Hazard is
unknown. At some point, he joined a mercenary company serving the Draconic
Empire. Eventually, he found himself assigned as bodyguard and dogsbody to the
dragonborn warlock, Ibrius Winterdoom. Hazard found working for Winterdoom a
pleasant change of pace, mainly because Winterdoom found him amusing. When
Winterdoom elected to remain in Darkwater, after the failed siege, Hazard
remained with him, acting as aide and confidant to the charismatic dragonborn.

Hazard has a dry, wicked sense of humor that often gets him
into trouble. Thankfully, his skills as a fighter usually get him out of those
same situations. He genuinely likes Ibrius and is deeply amused by his comrade,
Shiv’s, unrequited love for the dragonborn.

Hazard suspects that, one day soon, he and Shiv will cross
swords. It’s an encounter he’s looking forward to, almost as much as he’s
looking forward to his rematch with Lux Tenebris’s Nadix. The half-elf fighter
is one of the few opponents Hazard has met who bested him in a straight up
fight; the tiefling is itching for a rematch.

Ibrius Winterdoom is a member of a moderately influential
clan within the Draconic Empire. Although an ill-fit withini the Imperial
Legions, Ibrius excelled among the Imperial spymasters. He was assigned to destabilize the situation
within Darkwater, prior to that city’s siege. It was at this time he encountered
Lux Tenebris, who not only defeated the dragonborn warlock, but left him
humiliated. When imperial forces withdrew from Darkwater, Ibrius remained
behind, determined to avenge himself upon the members of Lux Tenebris. To that
end, he has created an unusual group called the Poisoned Thorn comprised of
criminals, draconic deserters, unscrupulous mercenaries, and others.

Ibrius’s closest allies are the tiefling fighter called
Hazard and the human assassin known as Shiv. He appreciates Hazard’s grim sense
of humor and is completely unaware that Shiv is enamored with him; if he were
to realize it, he would be quite disgusted.

Aila is the twin sister of Nadix, although she jokingly
tells him that she is older than him because she was born a few minutes
earlier. A kind, thoughtful child, Aila had already expressed an interest in a
cloistered life when the war began. Her mother dead, her brother forced to
fight, Aila sought refuge at the local Temple of Lukrym. She joined the church and rose quickly
through the hierarchy, eventually becoming a Cleric of Lukrym. After the war
ended, Aila was kidnapped by a local warlord and eventually freed by her
brother and his comrade, Lavic. The trio relocated to Darkwater, where they
encountered the other adventurers who would become the nucleus of Lux Tenebris.

Aila loves her brother, but is ready to return to the Temple
of Lukrym. The war has left the world deeply scarred and divided, as evidenced
in her twin’s experiences. It is all a bit much for Aila, who feels overwhelmed
by the world’s problems. She spends a
fair amount of her time in prayer, seeking some sign from her god that now is
the day she should return to the Temple. Until she gets that sign, Aila will
remain with the group.

Nadix and his twin-sister, Aila, were born of a human mother
and an elvish father. Their mother was a
baker, reduced to whoring to support herself. They never knew who their father
was. Their mother raised them as best she could, but life was not easy for the
small family. When the war began, the family was shattered. Nadix’s mother died
during an enemy attack. The youth was pressganged into the army, and served on
the frontlines for most of the war. It’s a time that Nadix still doesn’t like
to talk about. When the war ended, Nadix returned home to find that his sister
had been kidnapped and was being held for ransome by a local warlord. Nadix met
the human bard, Lavic, and together they freed Aila and put route to the
warlord. Afterwards, the trio relocated to Darkwater where they eventually
formed Lux Tenebris with other adventurers.

Nadix is a man struggling against inner darkness. He cannot
forget what he did during the war, and refuses to speak of them to anyone, but
it is obvious to all that his guilt is overwhelming. He is slow to anger, but
utterly ruthless when forced to fight. Nadix is extremely protective of his
twin sister, Aila, but somehow does not register the gnome barbarian, Kip
Iceheart, as any kind of threat. He has
a combative relationship with the half-elf rogue, Thylik, and considers Lavic a
‘blood brother.’

Nalasc grew up in the Northlands, in a remote gnomish
community called Lonelystone. As a child, Nalasc was drawn to the forests and
the mountains, so when he was called to embrace a druidic path, no one was
truly surprised.

As a servant of nature, Nalasc became a formidable warden of
the forests around his home. When the war began, he offered protection and safe
conduct to any good creature that wished to pass through his wood. Tha was how
he met the goliath ranger, Gorg, and, later on, the gnome barbarian called Kip.

When the Draconic Empire took the Northlands, the trio moved
south. Nalasc accompanied Gorg and Kip to look after them. In Darkwater, the
trio encountered other adventurers and would form the group known as Lux
Tenebris.

Of all the members of Lux Tenebris, Nalasc is probably the
most at-peace. Although he would like to return to the Northlands, he is
content to make his home in the south. The world has been badly treated by the
war and the druid knows he can use his powers to help restore the natural order
wherever he may be.

Also, he’s curious to see what will happen with Gorg and
Thylic.

Author's Note: Although Nalasc has the Hermit background, instead of Discovery as a feature, I swapped it out for the Healer feature as detailed on page 167 of the Player's Handbook.

Southlanders find the idea of a gnome barbarians somewhat
funny. Northlanders know that they are anything but amusing.

Kip Iceheart grew up, wandering the slopes of the Tarcevol
Mountains. When the Draconic Empire invaded, Kip’s people were largely
unaffected thanks to the remoteness of their homes. Sadly, that isolation would
end, drawing the gnomes into the war. Kip would meet the goliath ranger, Gorg,
and his friend, the druid Nalasc. The trio would become fast friends and when
the Draconic armies forced them out of the mountains, they traveled south to
Darkwater. There, they encountered other adventurers and would help form Lux
Tenebris.

Since the war’s end, Kip has had a strong urge to return to
his homelands. The only thing keeping him in the south is his affection for
Nalasc, his loyalty to Gorg and his romantic interest in Aila.

Eventually, though, Kip knows he will return home.What will
happen after that? He has no idea.

The human bard called Lavic grew up in an isolated southern
city called Moontree. The fourth son of the local lord, Lavic was ‘surplus to
demand.’ He was left to his own devices, which led him to embrace the arts. He
liked music and song, but loved the stories of famous heroes. When he was
fourteen, Lavic’s father sent him to the College of Bards in Darkwater to study
(and get him out from underfoot). Lavic was in the college when the Draconic
Empire attacked, and was lucky to escape. During the war, he used his bardic
skills to keep up morale and demoralize the enemy. He met Nadix and helped him
find and free his twin, Aila, a partnership that would lead to the creation of
Lux Tenebris. Recently, Lavic learned that Moontree had been decimated during
the invasion, his entire family wiped out. Moontree is waiting for him to
return, to formally claim the title of Lord Moontree, but Lavic is hesitant to
do so, fearful that his friends won’t understand why he was leaving.

Thylik’s father was the leader of the Ring of Fire, a cult
that served evil powers from the Elemental Plane of Fire. Thylik was conceived
by her parents to be a sacrifice to those powers, but the Draconic invasion
disrupted the Ring of Fire’s plans. Thylik’s mother fled with her, but her
mother died during the Siege of Darkwater. The orphaned Thylik grew up on the
streets of Darkwater, and she grew up fast. As she grew older, she gravitated
towards the docks where she became a favorite of certain old sea salts. They
tought her to sail and fight and put her on the path to becoming an adventurer.
Eventually, Thylik met the group that would become Lux Tenebris. She has found
herself drawn toward the sombre goliath ranger, Gorg, and has developed a
combative relationship with the half-elf fighter, Nadix.

Gorg is the last survivor of his tribe. The others were wiped out when the Draconic Empire invaded. Gorg fought a one-man guerrilla war against the invaders and retains an intense hatred of dragons and dragonborn to this day. He and Nalasc are close friends, the small dwarf having saved Gorg’s life. Eventually, the two fell in with the other members of Lux Tenebris and have become well known adventurers.

Monday, February 20, 2017

It was London, 1963. I remember that. I remember the lemonade sky above the Thames, the smell of smoke from countless chimneys. Horse-drawn carriages were still the norm, back then, but the first automobiles were appearing among the rich. Oh how people stared at them!

It was in London that I first met Glory. That’s what she called herself when we met, in the market on Hampstead Heath. I thought she was just another girl with too much money and time on her hands and not enough common sense. Her fae nature was not immediately apparent. By the time I realized what, and who, she was, it was too late. I was hopelessly smitten, and I like to think she was fond of me as well.

Not that it mattered.

It was just a few days in London.

Eventually, I returned to Atlantis, buffeted by good investments and pleasant memories. She burned bright in my memory for some time, before being eclipsed by my dear wife.

But Adelaide is gone now and, in these gray twilight days, I look less toward the future and more to the past. To those handful of days in London, laughing with a fae girl on Hampstead Heath and stealing cherry-flavored kisses from that same girl.

That was over fifty years ago. The world is a different place. The last time I was in London, I barely recognized it. Its streets are choked with clockwork vehicles and strange folk from foreign worlds. The London air smelt like cardamom and fresh asphalt.

Glory is still there, but most people know her as Gloriana III, great-granddaughter of Oberon and Elizabeth. She hasn’t aged a day since our rambles on the heath. She’s still as young and lovely as a spring flower.

Friday, February 17, 2017

The Great Hall was
filled with guests. The good and great of the land had assembled at the Master Artificer’s
invitation, to witness the unveiling of his latest and greatest creation.
Lodevic Arno waited behind a velvet curtain, tapping his fingertips together
and smiling in anticipation of the crowd’s reaction to his latest work. Behind him, the nine-foot tall metallic
figure seemed pensive. Lodevic lay a calloused palm against blood-warm metal
and smiled.

“Soon,” he murmured to
his creation. “Soon.”

Artificers do not exist in many worlds, but in the worlds
they do inhabit, people quickly learn to give them a wide berth. Not because
they are inherently dangerous, but because no one knows exactly what will
happen when an artificer empowers her creation. Most of the time, the artifact
works perfectly fine. The rest of the
time? Well, there are rumors that Atlantis sank because of an artificer. Artificers don’t do anything by halves.

In most worlds, artificers live difficult lives. Bridging
the divide between the arcane arts and the physical sciences as they do, they
are often rejected by practioners of both. That’s why they so often wind up
working alone, becoming eccentric at best or mad at worst.

What they lack in physical power, artificers often make up
for with intelligence and wisdom. Many of them are also walking arsenals, and a
high-level artificer with a handful of coins can be more dangerous and
unpredictable than an arcanist or a scientist.

Skills: Choose any two from Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation,
Nature and Medicine

Spellcrafting

As an artificer, you have the ability to imbue things that
you create with magical properties via rituals.
Each ritual takes five minutes per Spell level to complete. Therefore, a
1st-level spellcrafting ritual will take five minutes to complete,
while a 5th-level spellcrafting ritual would take twenty-five
minutes to finish.

Spell Slots

The Sorcerer table shows how many spell slots you have to
cast your spells of 1st level or higher. To imbue an object
with a spell, you must expend a slot of
the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expanded spell slots when you
finish a long rest.

Spell Slots Known at 1st Level

You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from
the sorcerer spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Sorcerer’s table shows when
you learn more sorcerer spells of your choice.
Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell
slots. For instance, when you reach 3rd
level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd
level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can
choose one of the sorcerer spells you know and replace it with another spell
from the sorcerer spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have
spell slots.

Spellcrafting Ability

You cast all of
your spells as rituals. Intelligence is
your spellcasting ability for your spells. You use your Intelligence whenever a
spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your
Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a wizard spell you
cast and when making an attack roll with one.

At 1st level, you gain proficiency with one type
of artisan’s tools of your choice.

Expanded Attunement

When you reach 2nd level, you can attune to more
than three magical items at once. You
can attune to a number of magical items equal to your artificer level plus your
Intelligence modifier.

Empowered Creations

By the time you reach 3rd level, you can use imbue
an item you have created (such as a rag doll or a clay pot) with a spell. You
can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier.
When you have exhausted all uses, you cannot use this feature again until you
finish a long rest.

Ability Score
Improvement

At 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th,
16th and 19th-level, you can increase one Ability Score
by two, or two Ability Scores of your choice by one. As normal, you cannot increase an Ability
Score above 20 using this feature.

Expertise

Beginning at 6th level, choose two of your skill
proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is
doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen
proficiencies.

Focused Mind

Starting at 10th level, you have advantage on
saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

Artificer’s Luck

At 14th level, you have three luck points.
Whenever you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can
spend one luck point to roll an additional d20. You can choose to spend one of
your luck points after you roll the die, but before the outcome is
determined. You choose which of the d20s
is used for the attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.

You can also spend one luck point when an attack roll is
made against you. Roll a d20, and then choose whether the attack uses the attacker’s
roll or yours.

If more than one creature spends a luck point to influence
the outcome of a roll, the points cancel each other out; no additional dice are
rolled.

You regain your luck points when you finish a long rest.

Empowered Object

When you reach the 18th-level, you no longer need
to create an object to empower it. You can now empower any object you touch
with a spellcrafting ritual. You can use this feature a number of times equal
to your Intelligence modifier. When you have exhausted your uses, you will not
regain this feature until you finish a long rest.

Wondrous Creation

At 20th level, you can actually endow your
creations with sentience and free will as detailed in the awaken spell’s descriptor. You can do this a number of times equal
to your Intelligence modifier. Once you have exhausted all your uses of this
feature, you cannot regain this feature until you finish a long rest.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Picture a landscape of rock and sand, where almost nothing grows. Ancient, weatherbeaten trees stand, here and there, like silent, disapproving witnesses of a bygone age, just waiting to die. The lonely winds blow across the stony hills, kicking up dust storms so thick that they can obscure the sun. Scattered across this empty landscape are the ruins of old villages and towns, their names forgotten, their histories lost to the ravages of time and the elements.
Welcome to the Barrens.
Although life is possible in the Barrens, reproduction is not. A thousand years ago, the kingdom that existed here earned the ire of a goddess called Desmidora. She cursed that kingdom, so that no new life would ever begin within its borders. Within a generation that nameless kingdom was undone, its people scattered to the neighboring lands or beyond. Some became gypsies, roaming the West and the South, recounting the cautionary tale of the Barrens.
To this day no life can germinate within the Barrens. No seed will sprout. No bud will blossom. No animal can conceive. The reason for the curse, the causitive issue remains unknown. Desmidora, like the kingdom she cursed, has fallen on hard times and is all but forgotten except by a few esoteric scholars. Despite her fall from grace, Desmidora's Curse remains in full force.The Barrens are a quiet, almost empty region viewed with superstitious dread by the neighboring countries. Nevertheless, some people do live in the Barrens. Scavengers prowl the ruins, looking for anything of value they can resell. Theologians, scholars, sages and priests make the long trek to the Lonely Chapel, trying to divine the cause of Desmidora's Curse. In the Fallows, silver is mined by small groups of prospectors. Merchant caravans cross the cursed kingdom, rather than travel around it, and boatman travel regularly along the Tearful River. Misanthropes and hermits make their homes in the wilderness, as do outcasts and fugitives. Those of a more social bent gather in the region's two settlements, Stillwater and River's Edge.

Stillwater lies in the west, near the lake that bears its name. It is little more than a trading post, offering travelers simple accomodations and a chance to resupply before traveling deeper into the Barrens. Its population is transitory, thriving to several hundred in the hot summer months and dwindling to a couple of dozen in the winter.River's Edge is the largest community in the Barrens. The town is built along the western bank of the Tearful River. Trade is its lifeblood. In River's Edge you can find food and shelter, as well as guides to the region and a variety of services.
The inhabitants of the Barrens are mostly there by choice. They are hardy and self-sufficient. Some are mad. Most are odd. None should be dismissed out of hand.

Who is this guy?

My name is George R. Shirer and I'm an author currently living in South Carolina.During my life I've done some interesting things: testified in a murder trial, worked as a professional fortune teller, accidentally peed on a bear.The list goes on and on.Here, I plan on sharing some things about myself, my life and my writing with you.Together we can, hopefully, discover the answer to the most important question in the world: what next?